JHARSUGUDA/BHAWANIPATNA: At least 10 people were reportedly killed and 36 others suffered injuries in separate road crashes in Jharsuguda and Kalahandi districts on Sunday.
In Jharsuguda, five persons died and eight others sustained grievous injuries after a passenger van collided with a coal-laden truck on National Highway-49 near Junian Chowk at Lakhanpur.
The mishap took place at around 9.45 am. Sources said 14 persons including an 18-month-old baby were travelling from Panchgaon village in Lakhanpur to Belpahar in a Tata Magic van. Near Junian Chowk, the van collided head-on with the truck which was coming from the opposite direction.
While two passengers in the van died instantly, locals and police rushed 11 others to Lakhanpur community health centre (CHC) in a critical condition. Subsequently, three of the injured succumbed at the CHC.
Later, the rest eight injured persons were shifted to the district headquarters hospital (DHH), Jharsuguda. One of them was shifted to VIMSAR, Burla after his condition worsened. Sources said the toddler travelling in the ill-fated van miraculously escaped with minor scratches in the mishap.
Lakhanpur IIC Binod K Rao identified the deceased as Kalpana Meher (28), Bhubaneswar Bhainsal (71), Urmila Rout (50), Uma Padhan (51), and Thandaram Satnami (55), all from Lakhanpur block. One of the injured passengers, identified as Baikunth Khamari, was shifted to VIMSAR and his condition is critical.
“On being informed, police reached the mishap site and sent the bodies for autopsy. The driver of the truck, which was enroute to Rengali, absconded after the accident. A case has been registered and further investigation is underway,” Rao added.
Similarly, five persons were reportedly killed and 28 others injured after a pick-up van overturned near Dukripada in Kalahandi’s Golamunda block. The mishap took place in the evening.
Sources said around 50 agriculture labourers from Atigaon and Michagoan had gone to Borguda for paddy plantation work. They were returning home when the van turned turtle after its driver lost control of the vehicle.
While sources said five persons were killed in the mishap, police confirmed only two deaths. An officer of Golamunda police station said two persons, Mohan Biswal and Manjula Biswal, died in the accident. Condition of 28 workers is stated to be critical and more deaths cannot be ruled out. The injured have been admitted to the DHH at Bhawanipatna and Dharamgarh sub-divisional hospital.
